China is the world's top trading market; therefore, it is a destination for businesspeople who want to enter the market. In the past 10 years, Thai products have been very popular. And the new generation of Chinese people have purchasing power. It creates a golden opportunity for Thai businesses to want to sell products in the Chinese market. Cross-Border E-Commerce or CBEC is another option that helps Thai entrepreneurs to have a trading space without having to register a company in China. Khun Banpot Hanthongkam, Company Director BB Birdness Trading Co., Ltd. shared CBEC experience with the participants of the ITP4 Digital Exporter training as follows.

>Biennial learn battle of the Dragon Lands

Khun Banpot said that in the past, he used to sell bird's nests in Thailand, but the price was depressed. So, looking for new opportunities in the Chinese market. The first time failed miserably, but never gave up. Returning to Thailand, planning a new strategy Build a brand that is trustworthy Targeting Chinese customers in Thailand including Chinese tourists. and looking for new sales channels such as Boots stores, 7-11 and places with a lot of Chinese tourists Including contacting a guide or tour company to bring people to buy products. When the product became known among Chinese tourists Khun Banpot then finds an opportunity to return to the Chinese market again. Although the bird's nest market in China is Red Ocean, but with continued strong branding until the product has been entrusted to entertain important people who visit China including important Chinese people until the product is finally widely accepted.

 

Flag Cross Border E-Commerce Business in China

When thinking of doing business in China At first, Khun Banpot wanted to enter Tmall Global because he had the No. 1 market share, but since it was still a small business and the product was not yet known, he started opening a flagship store at JD Global first. When the product sells well, Tmall Global is persuaded to sell it, making it mainly through these 2 platforms. and because I want to close the risk Therefore, looking for other sales channels So I'm trying to sell offline. But due to insufficient study and complex regulations in China, it was not as expected. But with effort Finally found a solution by registering a company in Guangzhou. To open a contract manufacturing company in China, allowing the FDA or China's FDA to be able to wholesale bird nests to China. When a company produces its own products in China Reduce production costs, such as lower packaging costs, have tax advantages This made it possible to open a shop in China and have a channel for distributors successfully.4 factors that make Thai products famous crossing over to China

Khun Banpot thinks that in the past 10 years, the export of Thai products to China has boomed, which has 4 factors that caused this trend.

1  .Exchange student group:   Most of them come to study in Thailand and want to stay. So, I thought of doing business to find Thai products to sell in China, such as cosmetics, fruits. When this group of people started having money, they hired OEMs to produce their own brands or set up a factory to produce products in Thailand and then wholesale them back to China.

2.  Tourism industry: In the past, Chinese tour groups came to Thailand at very low prices. Causing a lot of Chinese people to visit Thailand, resulting in Chinese people knowing more about Thai products.

3  .Soft Power  Thailand captures the heart of the dragon land Thai movies and dramas are popular in China, such as Wife 2018, making Chinese people want to follow in Thailand's footsteps.

4.  Government support for tourism: As a result, there are 8-10 million Chinese tourists coming to Thailand per year.

 

How to prepare before entering the race

 

Product

• Packaging Design ·  Study to suit the Chinese market. Don't forget to include branding and Thai identity in the design.
• Product Size · During the trial market, do it in a small size so that it can be sold at an affordable price. People will have the courage to try and buy.
• Price Structure · Product price structure at China Margin should be at 50-60-70% or more because margin affects the choice of sales channels. If margin is not much, may choose to sell only certain channels.

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Law and Regulation

 

·        Take a Trademark in China 1. You should take a picture. 2. Should jot down Chinese text and write it comprehensively.

·        If you have a Chinese name, write down your Chinese name because the Thai name in your passport is in English. How do Chinese authorities know they are the same person?

·        Trademark at least 3 brands should be registered in case the first brand has problems. will be able to use the second brand to do business immediately

·        Copyrighted Packing Design to prevent copying.

 

Before entering the real field, try the Chinese market in Thailand first.

·        Experiment with Chinese people in Thailand. 1. Through apps for Chinese people in Thailand such as Sun Wukong App, Chang Bin App 2. Chinese Associations in Thailand can extend their business to China because they have connections with traders in China. You don't have to go to the fair very often. If you go, it's to test the market, listen to feedback.

3 โมเดลหลัก E-Commerce แดนมังกร

1.Traditional E-Commerce   is online sales where buyers have demand for products Then search for and buy products, or called Demand Search Purchase Model, including TaoPao, Tmall, JD.com.

2.Social Commerce  is the integration of Social Media and Online Shopping together, gaining trust from knowing on social media and leading to product trading between each other or called Trust Demand Purchase such as Pinduoduo, Xiaohongshu, WeChat Mall Mini Product, etc.

3.Interest E-Commerce   is a Live selling of products or short videos of selling products that recommend products to the audience or known as Products Looking for People such as Douyin (TikTok, China).

 

Top 10 Social Media in China

1.WeChat (LINE/WhatApp) 2.Tencent QQ 3.Weibo (Twitter) 4.Douyin (TikTok) 5.Xiao HongShou (IG)

 

Businesses Who Want to Do Cross Border E-Commerce in China

1. Opening the Flag Ship Store on various platforms of China itself makes it difficult to understand the process, but it's quite cumbersome.

2.Find an Exclusive Partner. The advantage is that you don't have to sell big lots.

3. Find a partner that is already selling on the platform. The advantage is that you have many partners.

 Exporting Thai products with CBEC is therefore a golden opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to export their products to the Chinese market without having to go through strict regulations. Therefore, it is another channel that should not be missed to increase the opportunity to expand the customer base. Placing the flag of Thai products in China

 

Source: ITP4 Digital Exporter 4 Seminar on Cross Border Commerce: China E-Commerce by Mr. Banpot Hanthongkham, Director BB Birdness Trading Co., Ltd. on June 14, 2022 at the Siam Commercial Bank head office.